Dear all, thanks very much for your really helpful replies. Up to this point in my life I have shunned 'online communities' (Im not lying when I say its my first time posting or adding a thread anywhere).This experience has been a very positive one and I will recommend this site to fellow PhDers and the careers advisor when I see him later today.Not only that but I am also inspired to participate more online as well.So thankyou for that.

My main problem with continuing this PhD (knowing that I dont want to go into academia) is that I have very little experience in the sectors that I am interested in - the only thing that I have 'experience in' is in the the country that I am writing my thesis on - and certainly one of my prime motivations in justifying this PhD was to become an 'expert' in this particular country (to kind of cap-off my highly enjoyable time spent living in that country). This may seem a crazy half-baked idea now but it seemed totally acceptable a year ago! However it does seem that the non-academic sector requires more than this. With this in mind I will certainly look seriously at ESRC internships/distance learning NCTJ courses/freelance journalism/more volunteering (i already do some anyway) if I decide to continue. Re:decision-making time-frame. My entire second year is spent carrying fieldwork out abroad so I feel I have to decide before I book my flights in a month.This gives me a bit of time but its still decidely difficult to motivate myself enough to prepare for my upgrade/complete my methodology etc.nevertheless I shall persevere.

Bewildered - Id love to know what decisions you made and how they played out for you? every PhD case is unique but yours does have similarities to mine which is nice to know

Pjlu - you are spot on when you say there are no 'right and no wrong answers'. I have speculatively applied to a few positions in the third sector although I am not holding out much hope for these.

Intheheadplease - the problem is that although i recognise the fact that there are a host of problems with doing the PhD - there is no way of knowing that I wouldnt find new problems with anything else I choose to do if I quit my PhD. Being mid-late 20's and not having made my mind up about what I really want to do with my life complicates this (I realise there is nothing wrong/unusual about this but it doesnt help!)

I will keep you updated on the decision-asking and any further comments/suggestions/advice would be very much appreciated. Cheers
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!! UPDATE: Now with improved legibility !!

Dear all, Having read through many should-I-quit-my-PhD threads im afraid that I was inspired to start my own.

I am coming to the end of the first year of my funded PhD. Things have gone well and I should pass my upgrade. However I am having very serious doubts about continuing. I dont want to be too specific but the subject I am studying is Area studies/social science looking at NGOs within one particular foreign country. If I quit I am interested in going to work in the third sector/foreign office/civil service/journalism (business is not an option). The issues that I have been deliberating over are as follows:

I have never wanted to be an academic vs. Im still not sure what I want to do.
I am fairly sure my PhD will not make me any more employable in the areas I am considering vs. Im not entirely sure what these 'areas' are
I will be 28/29 when I finish without house/ savings/wife/baby/car/dog/a suit vs. so what
I dont want to be in the same position I am in now after I finish PhD vs Financial security for the next few years.

I think the main driving force of all of this is that I do not want, and have never wanted, to be an academic (I never even considered doing a PhD till a year ago when I got offered the studentship). I now think I made a rather rash/hasty decision beginning the PhD and therefore is it worth continuing? I have an Area Studies MA, BA history and several years TEFL experience + part-time jobs + 'travel experience' (woohoo!)

Therefore my questions to all of you wonderful people are what do you suggest I do? I have talked to my supervisor (very considerate but advised against quitting) careers advisors (talked about transferable skills, internships etc etc etc but was wholly inconclusive) and numerous friends/family (supportive but non-pushy) but I still cant decide.Its agonizing!

I have been an avid reader of the should-I-quit threads for some time and I would very much appreciate your input, suggestions and advice for my individual case.

Mucho mucho gracias:-):$:-x